Seems Nbc Will Do Anything For 'Friends'

Names and faces

October 6, 1996|By Leslie Doolittle, Sentinel Columnist

Warner Bros. and the Friends crew are friends once again.

TV Guide reports that the six stars of the NBC sitcom have been given a deal by the production company that pretty much meets their demand of $100,000 an episode. The terms call for the salaries of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer to jump this season - the show's third - from the current $30,000-$35,000 per episode to $75,000.

Next season, that salary would jump to $85,000, then move to $100,000 in the fifth year and $120,000 in the sixth year.

From the Disney fest files

A few leftovers from Disney's celeb-loaded 25th anniversary bash last week:

- ABC sitcom star Drew Carey joked that his favorite thing about Disney is that you can say anything you want to people who work there and they have to be nice to you.

''I kicked the guy in the 'Small, Small World' line about five times and he had to keep thanking me,'' the comedian cracked.

Nunis said he'll never forget the 1951 USC-Notre Dame game, when he and Gifford were playing twin safeties. Gifford, an All-American, blew a key play, but Nunis, a freshman starter, got blamed for it in the next day's headlines.

Gifford, who went on to become a pro football star and a sports-broadcasting giant, said: ''He remembers that play a lot better than I do.''

Despite the setback, Nunis went on to become a scholastic All-American and land an appearance in the film Bonzo Goes to College.

- Among the folks leaping to the defense of Miss America Tara Dawn Holland after her bashing by a tabloid for being a popular goody-two-shoes at Lake Mary High: singer Greg Whipple, who attended Florida State University with her.

''She was great - always very bubbly,'' Whipple said. ''And she always dressed nice even during finals week when everyone else was scummed out.''

Holland, by the way, said all those stories about her watching 400 to 500 beauty pageant videos were greatly exaggerated - she only has about 100.

- Captivated by dignified singer Lou Rawls' deep, resonant voice, a group of disc jockeys joked that they would love to hear him sing after inhaling some helium.

- Evans High School graduate Brian McKnight, who sang ''Love Is'' with Vanessa Williams a few years ago, sings Disney World's official 25th anniversary tune on the Music From the Park album.

Also on the disc: the Pointer Sisters' singing ''Yo, Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me''; Barenaked Ladies' singing ''Grim, Grinning Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion''; and who wouldn't have guessed: Rocky Horror Picture Show's Tim Curry, yes, the Sweet Transvestite From Transylvania, who sings ''The Ballad of Davy Crockett.''

Celebrity alert - false alarm

Your intrepid columnist sprang into action Friday when a reader called to alert us that Robert Duvall was at Florida Hospital.

Within minutes, I had somebody slip Mr. Duvall a note asking him to call for an interview. He did. And before I knew it, there I was, in just my first week at this celebrity interviewing stuff - talking to none other than Robert Duval . . . Deltona Little League coach.

Seems my Mr. Duval is constantly getting attention from people who think he is that double ''l'' Duvall, the Lonesome Dove guy.

Duval said that after a 1990 construction accident at the Empire State Building, his gurney was engulfed by the New York media and paparazzi. But when they saw he wasn't the Robert Duvall, ''They just took off,'' he said.

How has the Duval/Duvall problem affected his life?

''I don't make reservations at hotels anymore because people are so disappointed when they see me show up.''

Tidbits from far and wide

- The mystery buyer of Paul McCartney's recording notes for the Beatles' classic ''Hey Jude'' is the person the song was written for, Julian Lennon, John's son. Julian paid $39,030 for the notes at a London auction earlier this month.

- Disney plans to open a $16 British production of its Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast in London this May.

- Country stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, who have been touring together since March, have finally confirmed that all that slow dancing and stage smooching during duets are not just an act. They're an item.

- That new lead singer who Van Halen has hired is Gary Cherone of Extreme. ''This guy's got (guts) and he can sing like an angel,'' said guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Original lead singer David Lee Roth had returned in June to replace Sammy Hagar, but that reunion fizzled.

- A new album by Blind Melon will celebrate two of the most important things left behind by their late lead singer, Shannon Hoon: his music and his daughter. Nico, a collection of the band's outtakes and rarities, will be released Nov. 12. The album is named for Hoon's year-old daughter, Nico Blue. Hoon, 28, died after an overdose last year.

- Can't think of a thing in the world that would make you want to go to the tiny Adriatic republic of Montenegro? How about supermodel Claudia Schiffer? The supermodel plans to do tourism commercials for the Yugoslav republic, which was under international sanctions until last week because of the war. ''It is quiet and peaceful,'' Schiffer said. ''Ideal for rest.''